By The Associated Press

BALTIMORE – Joe Mauer and Phil Nevin hit two-run homers, and the Twins moved closer to sealing a playoff berth with a 6-3 vicotry over the Orioles.

Any combination of Minnesota wins or losses by the Chicago White Sox totaling two will ensure the Twins a trip to the postseason.

Minnesota also remained 1 games behind first-place Detroit in the AL Central. The Tigers clinched no worse than the wild-card berth Sunday with an 11-4 win at Kansas City.

Miguel Tejada hit two solo homers and Corey Patterson also homered for Baltimore, which dropped two of three to the Twins and closed its home schedule at 40-41.

Twins starter Matt Garza (3-5) allowed three runs and six hits in 5 2-3 innings. Joe Nathan worked the ninth for his 35th save.

Adam Loewen (6-6) gave up four runs, three earned, in six innings to get the loss.

White Sox 12, Mariners 7

CHICAGO – Paul Konerko hit two home runs and the White Sox tied a season high with five total.

With their playoff hopes flickering, the defending World Series champions won for the third time in 10 games. They are seven games behind Detroit in the AL Central and 51/2 behind wild-card leader Minnesota. They finish with three games at Cleveland followed by three at Minnesota.

Brian Anderson homered leading off the third for the game’s first run. Konerko hit a two-run homer with two out in the fifth to make it 4-1, and Joe Crede immediately went deep off Seattle starter Ryan Feierabend (0-1).

Juan Uribe also hit a grand slam for the White Sox.

Freddy Garcia (16-9) allowed four runs and eight hits in 6 2-3 innings for Chicago.

Ben Broussard and Jose Lopez hit consecutive homers in the eighth, and Raul Ibanez also homered for Seattle.

Devil Rays 11, Yankees 4

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. – Mike Mussina was hit on the glove hand by Carl Crawford’s liner and left the Yankees’ loss in the fifth inning.

New York manager Joe Torre went to the mound after Crawford’s hit and immediately removed Mussina (14-7), who allowed six runs and seven hits in 4 2-3 innings. Mussina is in line to pitch the third game of the Yankees’ first-round playoff series, and the Yankees said Mussina sustained a mild bruise at the base of his left thumb.

New York has lost three of four since clinching its ninth straight AL East title on Wednesday night.

Robinson Cano homered for the Yankees.

Ty Wigginton had a two-run single during a six-run fourth against Mussina and added a solo homer for the Devil Rays. Rookie Brian Stokes (1-0) got his first major league victory.

Indians 11, Rangers 6

ARLINGTON, Texas – Grady Sizemore hit two home runs, including an inside-the-park homer for his major league-leading 90th extra-base hit, and the Indians spoiled the Rangers’ home finale.

Carlos Lee made an unsuccessful sliding attempt to catch Sizemore’s looping fly ball down the left-field line in the sixth. The ball rolled past him into the corner, and the speedy Sizemore easily had the first inside-the-park homer and first multihomer game of his career.

Sizemore’s conventional homer in the fifth, a shot into the second deck of seats in right field, made it 6-2 and chased Kevin Millwood (16-11), who had won his last four home games.

Jake Westbrook (14-10) pitched just long enough to get the victory, allowing five runs and nine hits over five innings.